


If Home Is Where The Heart Is (Then We're All Just Fucked)

by Acadjonne



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (except not really), Accidental Paradoxes, Confusion, Family resemblance, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Japanese Shiro (Voltron), Lance being Lance, Lance can't tell Matt and Pidge apart, M/M, Matt Holt needs a hug, More tags to be added, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Pidge is the biggest Shatt shipper of them all, Prisoner recovery, Recovery, Reunions, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Team as Family, Teary sobby group hug, and also likes to tease Matt about it, and maybe a therapist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:56:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7662160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acadjonne/pseuds/Acadjonne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt emerges from the healing pod with a stumble, leaning against the side of the pod to regain his balance as the world cleared up around him. He faintly heard someone's breath hitch and turned to face the person, only to find a very familiar face staring back at him, one hand already reaching out to help him should he need it. Matt takes a step back, and then another, until there's a good two feet between them.</p>
<p>"Shit," he thinks, or maybe he says it, "this is a paradox! Don't touch me!"</p>
<p>The other takes a hesitant step forward, trying to appear non threatening, despite the confused look Matt receives. "Matt, calm down, this isn't a paradox." Oh. That voice is even more familiar than the face staring back at him, and Matt stumbles forward.</p>
<p>"Katie?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Home Is Where The Heart Is (Then We're All Just Fucked)

**Author's Note:**

> Based on an idea that I had about what would happen when Matt and Pidge get reunited, which was then developed with help from my friends after a tumblr post I made about it got a lot of possitive reactions.

The paladins' run to Aralmore hadn't been planned in advance. The system it was in was densely populated by Galra, to the point where no one outside the system knew how it had been spared. Of course, Aralmore had always been a strong planet.

Theirs was among one of the few planets brave enough to fight back against Zarcon's iron fist. At first, it had seemed like perhaps Aralmore might lose it's battle, but they remained strong, and after almost 6000 years, the Galra were much less interested. Aralmore's resistance also inspired others to join them, and before too long led to the formation of a fully-fledged rebellion.

Aralmore regularly led missions against the Galra, the most common type being prisoner rescue missions. To those they rescued, they'd offer one of two choices: make a new life on Aralmore, be it peaceful or resistance; or to help them return home to their families if possible. Since most prisoners didn't have families to return to, they usually ended up staying and joining the rebellion.

The Paladins arrived on Aralmore less than a day after their most recent prisoner rescue for some supplies for the castle, so many of the first beings they saw were aliens still dressed in their prisoner garb. They all stared on warily as the Paladins headed to the main village square, until two other beings approached them. One was Aralmoran, her blue skin shining in the light reflecting off her bald head and complementing well with the purple artwork covering her body. The other was human, or appeared to be so, with dark chocolate skin and a thick mop of long onyx hair. Like her blue-skinned counterpart, she was covered from neck to ankles in purple tattoos, which disappeared into the bands of material covering her breasts and womanhood. Hand in hand, the women bowed before the Paladins, though use as Lance was about to open his mouth, the blue-skinned woman spoke.

"Keji revo kuse avenmoreida?"

At first, it sounded a bit like Japanese, but when Shiro shook his head to indicate he didn't understand they realized it was a different language entirely. This was just great. Five minutes into the restocking mission and the Paladins had already run into a problem.

"Uh, any chance you two understand English?" Hunk chanced. The dark-skinned woman's eyes widened for a moment before she nodded.

"Yes, I speak your language. Is there anything you require?" She asked.

"We're looking for some supplies," Shiro asked, "if you know where we could find some?"

The two women led the Paladins down to a large stretch of market stalls and booths where they were told to take what they needed, as thanks for their efforts as Voltron, and they wandered from stall to stall, picking up any necessary supplies. Edibles, some articles of clothing, toiletries, a list of supplies for maintenance and operation of the Castle of Lions, and some spare parts for Pidge. Lance was also looking at a couple of trinkets that had caught his eye.

Keith was standing off to the side with his supplies already packed when the blue-skinned woman approached, fingers poised in the direction of Pidge, who was ogling some kind of electrical part while the stall owner explained something.

"Where is the small one from," she asked. Keith blinked.

"Pidge? From Earth, like the rest of us," he supplied, "why?"

"There is an earthling we rescued from the Galra who bears a strong resemblance to your friend. I thought perhaps they know each other?"

Keith thought about it for a moment before deciding to take the chance and see if she meant Pidge's brother or father. He quickly put his helmet on and reached out to Lance.

"I'm gonna wander off for a minute. Don't leave without me." Lance responded after a few beats.

"Alright. Don't wander too far."

Keith followed the blue-skinned woman down a few streets to a large white tent bustling with activity. Aliens of all kind milled about, all recovering from various forms of abused at the hands of the Galra. Some still wore their prison gear, while others had since fazed into clothing (or lack thereof) that they were more comfortable with. One such being, looking every bit the doctor Manhattan, approached Keith and his companion, and asked her a question which Keith didn't understand.

"Kuvore trubel avenmorei cirq bo Galra avenmorei oteruka." Though Keith didn't understand anything the woman had said, the guard relented and let the two of them pass, so it seemed to have been the right thing.

The best analogy Keith could come up with for the inside of the tent was a homeless shelter, of sorts. From the front opening to about a quarter of the way into the tent was lined with tables, and countless Aralmorans flitted back and forth, giving recently freed prisoners food and drink. The rest of the tent lay beyond a dividing curtain, and once he'd passed through it the tent essentially became a giant bed. Pillows and sheets were everywhere, allowing Keith to infer on the staggering amount of people who must be living there.

Near the very back of the tent lay a lump buried up to the neck in at least three blankets, leaving only a familiar mop of light brown hair visible. The blue-skinned woman knelt down to nudge the lump gently, and it stirred, until the person was sitting up and a mirror image of Pidge stared forward. Keith sat back on his heels, so he and the boy were eye level with each other.

"Are you Matt?" Keith asked, and when the boy nodded, he introduced himself. "I'm Keith. I'm a friend of your sister."

At the mention of his sister, Matt straightened up. "You know Katie? How is she doing? Is she safe, is she still with mom? Is mom okay? How long have I been gone?" The questions flew out at a mile a minute, and it took a moment for Keith to gather his thoughts and answer.

"Your mom is fine, so is your sister, she's actually here on-" Apperently the knowledge that Pidge was on Aralmore was too much for Matt, who lurched forward in an attempt to stand. Only the quick reflexes of the blue-skinned woman kept Matt from meeting the dirt.

"While I understand that familial relationships are among the most important of our lives, I would advise not exerting yourself more than necessary. What you require at the moment is rest and time to recover." The blue-skinned woman's voice was firm but not harsh, much like the tone a mother would use. Matt slipped from her grip and into a sitting position.

"I know. Sorry, Someris." Matt said. He had his head bowed, eyes downcast. In his tone of voice was something that made Keith feel bad for him.

"Uh, can I suggest something, Someris?" Keith asked. When she nodded, he continued. "If you want, I can take you to a place where you can rest and recover, and you'd also get to spend as much as you wanted with you sister."

This option seemed to pleased Matt, so with help from Someris, they managed to get Matt to one of the pods the Paladins had used to get Aralmore from the castle. Keith was grateful for her help, and was relieved when she agreed to stay in the pod with Matt while he fetched Lance.

Keith found the others all together, Lance and Hunk struggling to help Pidge close her overstuffed pack as a few bits of discarded technology fell onto the ground, and Shiro stood nearby. The latter looked in Keith's direction as he walked up to them.

"There you are," Shiro said, "we were starting to wonder where you'd gone."

"I found Pidge's brother." Keith replied. Pidge immediately shot up to him.

"You found my brother? Where is he, I've gotta-"

"Pidge."

"No, Keith, you don't get it. I've got to see him, I-"

This time it was Shiro who cut Pidge of, with his hand gently squeezing her shoulder.

"Pidge, I know how much this means to you, but chances are that Matt was among those rescued from the Galra yesterday, and he's probably exhausted. As much as you might hate hearing this, he'll probably need some time before he's ready to interact with people again, and that's not even taking into account the possibility he might need some time in a healing pod. So I'm sorry, Pidge, but it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer before you get to see Matt." At Shiro's words, Pidge visibly deflated, clearly upset; though she understood what Shiro was saying.

"Fine," she sighed, "but someone needs to come get me when he gets out of that healing pod."

* * *

 As it turns out, no one needs to tell Pidge when Matt wakes up.

Upon arrival to the Castle of Lions, Matt is rushed into the med bay by Coran without so much as a proper introduction, and promptly popped into the first available healing pod. Within minutes, all five Paladins and Allura have joined Coran in the med bay, and for a while the seven of them just stand there in silence. It's a bittersweet moment for everyone. Pidge has found her brother, she's a step closer to finally reuniting her family, but the fact that he's got a seven day stay in a healing pod really puts into perspective how lucky they've all been with their encounters with the Galra. With the exception of Allura and Coran, not one of them has spent more than two or three days in a pod.

It's obvious that Pidge doesn't know what to do. She'd always imagined being reunited with both her brother and father at the same time, with both of them being as okay as prisoners could be, and with a lot of hugging and talking involved. She may not be able to talk right now, but Hunk does offer her a hug, and she clings to him for as long as he'll let her.

A look in Shiro's eyes reminds the team that yes, he knew Matt too. They went to Kerboros together, were captured by the Galra together. They'd offered each other comfort on long nights in the bowels of a Galra ship. Shiro risked his life to save Matt from being thrown into that arena. Of course he'd be worried for him.

Over the next seven days, Pidge more or less becomes a fixture outside Matt's pod, bringing small experiments and bits of old tech with her to appear occupied. Shiro also spends some time in the med bay, sometimes when he couldn't find something to distract himself and sometimes to keep Pidge company. The others also did everything they could to comfort the two, be it Allura doing her best to reassure them or Hunk bringing Pidge food at mealtimes. Even Lance's endless chatter seemed to help, although he did start a mini-rivalry with Pidge over which Star Wars movies were the best. All tension was then disapated by Shiro declaring the Original Trilogy was infinitely better than the prequels.

And so, time ticked by, slowly but surely, until all seven days had finally passed.

Matt emerges from the healing pod with a stumble, leaning against the side of the pod to regain his balance as the world cleared up around him. He faintly heard someone's breath hitch and turned to face the person, only to find a very familiar face staring back at him, one hand already reaching out to help him should he need it. Matt takes a step back, and then another, until there's a good two feet between them.

"Shit," he thinks, or maybe he says it, "this is a paradox! Don't touch me!"

The other takes a hesitant step forward, trying to appear non threatening, despite the confused look Matt receives. "Matt, calm down, this isn't a paradox." Oh. That voice is even more familiar than the face staring back at him, and Matt stumbles forward.

"Katie?"

The two crash together in a tangle of limbs, and before either of the siblings really know what to do, Matt's got his face pressed into Katie's shaking shoulder. He's got tears in his eyes as he clutches onto his sister like a lifeline, because she's here and she's real and Matt had been beyond certain that he'd never see Katie again.

Matt pulls away when he belatedly realizes he's not quite sure where 'here' is. He remembers getting onboard a giant castle orbiting Aralmore, brought onboard by the guy in red -Keith, was it?- but other than that he's clueless. He can't tell if they're moving or stationary, he's not even sure how long he's been onboard. He wants to ask Katie, among other questions his mind forms, but at that moment she looks like she might burst into tears. Then the doors open at the other end of the room before a voice he hadn't heard in far too long chokes on his name and suddenly Takashi Shirogane himself falls to his knees before him.

Matt takes a few moments to study Shiro's appearance, so similar and yet so different from the last time they saw each other in that god damned Galra arena. A long pink scar stand out on Shiro's face as it runs across his nose, just under his eyes, and the tuft of hair on his forehead now matches his nickname just a bit too well. The most drastic change, though, has to be Shiro's right arm, which is a grey and black prosthetic until about a third of the way up his upper arm.

After a prolonged moment, Matt launches himself at Shiro, nearly knocking the man off kilter when he tenses. Then another set of arms wraps about the both of them and Shiro finally relaxes, which in turn opens the floodgates. Matt finds himself sobbing against his friend's chest, and he can tell both Katie and Shiro are crying, in between reassurances of "you're safe", "it's okay", and "we're here".

This is how they're found, some minutes later, by the red headed man with the moustache.

* * *

 After being found in the med bay by Coran, Matt is led up to the castle's main recreational room, introduced to everyone, and then offered a plate of food goo which he doesn't even hesitate to dig into. Coran simply glows when Matt admits that it's one of the best things he's had to eat in a while.

 After he's eaten, Matt is led by Katie to the showers, and she offers to find him some clothes, as well as the choice over whether he wants his own room or if he'd like to share with someone. He's grateful for both offers, and tell Katie that yes, he'd be more comfortable knowing someone else is in the room.

Matt spends far too long just standing under the flow of warm water, letting the heat absorb into his muscles, before he finally makes a move to begin to properly clean himself. Eventually, though, he steps out of the shower, having scrubbed the grime off his skin, and his hair dripping onto the shoulders of the shirt Katie left for him. When he steps out into the hallway, he finds Shiro there waiting for him.

"Hey. Feel better?" Shiro asks. Matt nods.

"Yeah. I never realized how much a hot shower could do me good. Or make me feel so exhausted." Realistically, Matt knows it's more the activities of the day that have left him so tire than the shower, but the hot water certainly didn't help his fatigue.

"Well, you can either sleep in my room, or you can share with your sister. The choice is entirely yours," Shiro informs him. Matt nods.

"Alright. Lead the way, then."

Shiro looks a little more taken aback by Matt's response than he should be. "Huh? Oh, uh, o-okay-" And then despite himself, Matt chuckled lightly before following Shiro down the castle's halls.

That night, Matt sleeps better than he may ever have in his life, deeply and totally. In the morning, though, he shoots up in his bed, not recognizing his surroundings for a moment. Then his eyes land on Shiro, hunched over some paper with a writing utensil in his hand. Matt lets himself fall back onto his pillow in relief.

Shiro snaps up when he hears the impact, turning to face Matt where he's laying in bed.

"Morning. Want some breakfast?"

Matt scrambles out of bed, a wide grin plastered to his face. "Oh, god yes." And so, Shiro puts away his supplies, and then they're on their way.

By the time they get to the dinning room, Hunk's already setting out breakfast for everyone. Matt is quick to decide Hunk's cooking is infinitely better than the food goo he'd had the previous night. Thankfully, Coran isn't there to catch his comment.

**Author's Note:**

> Man, this idea kinda snowballed. Initially it was all meant to be one long oneshot, but since I keep developing ideas for this story I decided to split it into chapters, and that I'd post this first one before the draft got deleted off AO3.
> 
> I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but until then feel free to bug me as acadjonne on Tumblr until I actually get to posting it.


End file.
